Cushion stripping and process



June 17, 1958 J. D. HOPKINS CUSHION STRIPPING AND PROCESS Filed April 9, 1956 Fig. 3

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United dentes Patent 2,839,020 CUSHION STRlPPllNG AND PROCESS John D. Hopkins, Bridgewater, Mass. Application April 9, 1956, Serial No. 577,626 4 Claims. (Cl. i12-262) This invention comprises a new and improved cushion stripping and includes within its scope the novel process of producing the same.

Cushion stripping has many uses as in the trimming of automobiles and airplanes, and as parts of furniture and garments. One field of use is as a bumper in safety helmets where the stripping is employed to cushion the Shock of blows received by the helmet in being transmitted to the head of `the wearer. The cushion stripping herein described is particularly useful in that field.

l have discovered that cushion stripping particularly neat and attractive in appearance, smooth in texture, and strong in construction may be produced in an economical manner under commercial conditions by progressively wrapping a ribbon of sheet cover material about a core of compressible resilient material, such as sponge rubber, temporarily deforming or distorting the core within the cover in such a manner as to bring the longitudinal edges of the ribbon into contiguous or overlapping relation, then securing the edges together, and finally removing the distorting force so that the core may reassume its original shape and impart the desired form to the nishing stripping. ln the stripping herein shown, the core is rectangular in cross section and the cover material is thin upper leather or artificial leather. As the ribbon of this material is progressively wrapped about the core, the core is deformed or partially folded upon itself so that the longitudinal edges of the cover material are brought into overlapping relation. The wrapped core may now be fed through a sewing machine equipped for Zig-Zag stitching and the edges united by an overcast zig-Zag seam. As the seam is completed the distorting fo-rce is removed so that the core reassumes its rectangular cross-section and converts the stripping to the same shape. The united edges of the cover material may be caused, if desired, to assume a butting or contiguous relation with the seam located substantially midway on one of the wider faces of the stripping.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred manner of carrying out the process above outlined in producing a rectangular cushion stripping as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a view in perspective illustrating more or less diagrammatically the steps of the process,

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the parts as seen adjacent to the stitching point, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

As herein shown the core 1li of the cushion stripping is rectangular in cross-section and formed of a compressible resilient sponge rubber. In practice the core is 1A X 5A" in dimensions. The cover 11 comprises a ribbon of soft natural or artificial upper leather approximately 21A" in width. The ribbon 11 is progressively wrapped about the core by being drawn through a tapering forming guide 12 herein shown as secured by screws to the table 13 of a zig-zag sewing machine. The machine has a needle bar 14 carrying a needle 15 and a presser foot 16 of usual construction. The needle bar 14 is arranged to swing transversely to the direction of feed as is usual in these machines. The forming guide 12 is so shaped as to deform the wrapped core into approximately circular cross-sectional contour, folding it somewhat as shown in Fig. 3 and bringing the longitudinal edges of the cover ribbon 11 into overlapping relation as they emerge from the guide. The presser foot 16, cooperating in the usual manner with an underfeed plate, draws the assembled stripping through the forming guide 12. The needle 1S is operated to form one stitch through the superposed edges of the ribbon l1 and then pick up the shuttle thread just outside the superposed edges of the cover thus forming an overcast zig-zag seam 17.

As the stripping passes beyond the forming guide 12 and the presser foot .16, the deforming force is removed from the core and the latter immediately reassumes its original cross-section as shown in Fig. 4. The united longitudinal edges of the cover ribbon are at this time drawn by the resilient action of the core into abutting or at least contiguous relation so that they lie smoothly against the core as shown in Fig. 4. In installing the cushion stripping the seam 17, which is located substantially midway in one of the wider faces of the stripping, will be concealed so that only the smooth continuous surfaces of the stripping are exposed to view.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described a preferred manner of carrying out the process, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. The process of making cushion stripping which consists in progressively Wrapping an elongated sheet of thin flexible leather about a continuous core of sponge rubber of rectangular cross section, temporarily deforming the core within the cover sheet to bring the longitudinal edges of the sheet into overlapping relation, securing the edges together by an overcast zig-Zag seam, and then removing the deforming force from the core and causing the iinished stripping to assume a rectangular cross section under the resilient action of the core.

2. The process of making cushion stripping which consists in progressively wrapping a ribbon of flexible cover material about a resilient compressible core, temporarily deforrning the core within the cover ribbon in such manner as to bring the longitudinal edges of the ribbon into overlapping relation, securing the edges together by a seam, and progressively removing the deforming force from the core whereby the stripping is caused to assume the original cross sectional shape of the core by the resilient action of the latter.

3. The process of making cushion stripping which consists in progressively deforming a resilient compressible core, simultaneously wrapping a ribbon of sheet cover material about the deformed core with the edges of the ribbon in contiguous relation, uniting the said edges, and then removing the deforming force from the core and thus by its resilient action restoring the stripping to a cross section determined by the-undeformed core.

4. The process of making cushion stripping of rectangular cross section characterized by the steps of wrapping a flexible ribbon of upper leather about a rectangular core of resilient material, progressively deforming the core by external pressure into approximately circular cross sectional contour and securing the edges of the ribbon together while the core is thus deformed, and then progressively removing the deforming pressure and causing the core by resilient action to convert the stripping to rectangular form.

' References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 496,095 Petchaft Apr. 25, 1893 2,593,589 McIntyre Apr. 22, 1952 2,615,172 Donegan Oct. 28, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 946,712 France Dec. 27, 1948 

